The CJM Blog

Installation view of NEAT: New Experiments in Art and Technology . Photo by Johnna Arnold. Judaism, as it is practiced today, is not a strict biblical religion; it is a rabbinic one. That is because the Hebrew Bible is not considered a literal source to be taken on face value, but a starting point, from which flows centuries of debate among rabbis and other Jewish thinkers, leading to an evolution of understanding. Rather, it is a starting point, from which flows centuries of debate among rabbis and other Jewish thinkers that leads to the evolution of understanding. Science, too, is very much about process. Perhaps that's how science and religion can be reconciled—not as two realms that are in conflict …, but as things you do. Science is about creating hypotheses and testing data against these theories. Judaism is about how we act to improve this world, here and now. And these processes can easily go hand in hand. [1] In short, for Judaism there is no essential conflict ...

Installation view of  You Know I'm No Good . Photo by Johnna Arnold. Artist Jennie Ottinger recently gave a short gallery chat on her installation  Mouth to Mouth: Pieces from an Animation about Cultural Appropriation —f eatured in The Contemporary Jewish Museum's current exhibition  You Know I'm No Good.  Responding to Amy Winehouse's legacy and music, Ottinger's multi-faceted installation addresses the icon's cultural appropriation of the legacy of female musicians, specifically African American singers.  _________________________________________________________________________________ Jennie Ottinger (JO): As I got the topic, I really didn’t know much about Amy Winehouse—I had been aware of the hits and her personal story, but I didn’t really listen to her music. So I just started Googling, and I came across an article by  Daphne A. Brooks — an African American Studies professor at Yale — about Amy Winehouse and cultural appropriation. It was in ...

Installation photo of  You Know I'm No Good  by Johnna Arnold. The title of this exhibition is taken from a track by the same name on Amy Winehouse’s award-winning album, Back to Black (2006). In response to the intimate look at Winehouse allowed in A Family Portrait , The Museum invited three contemporary artists to display work about the singer. San Francisco artists Jason Jägel and Jennie Ottinger created new works for the exhibition and a selection of drawings by New York artist Rachel Harrison are also on view. Installation photo of  You Know I'm No Good  by Johnna Arnold. Jägel is known for his paintings that combine text and cartoon-like figures to create dreamlike narratives that pull the viewer across the image and back again. He has also created album art for many rap and R&B musicians. For You Know I’m No Good , he created a mural-sized painting for the gallery wall visible from Yerba Buena Lane inspired by Winehouse and her m...

Installation view of  J. Otto Seibold and Mr. Lunch.  Photo by Johnna Arnold. As part of San Francisco Design Week (SFDW), former CJM Design Studio designer (and founder)  Brad Aldridge gave a design talk in The Museum on designing The Museum —everything  from identity graphics to exhibitions. For The CJM Blog, we asked him to elaborate on his design philosophy, on collaborating with others, and more. _________________________________________________________________________________ 1. What was your approach to creating the identity for exhibitions at The CJM? How did this differ depending on the scale, scope, and content of exhibitions? The first thing to capture as a designer in a museum is the idea that whole place is a big giant storybook. It’s a lot of different voices trying to guide visitors to have a great journey of discovery, learning, and—on an even more pure level—have a great edifying time. So, as designer, I have to always remember that e...

Installation view of The Library of Particular Significance. Photo by Johnna Arnold. Artist Josh Greene's two-part exhibition Bound to Be Held: A Book Show celebrates the relationship between a reader and a book. One part of the exhibition, The Library of Particular Significance (LPS), focuses on instigating social interaction by recasting the gallery as a lending-library of donated "significant" books—a space for dwelling, reading, and connecting. A series of related public programs called In The Library of Particular Significance enlivens the space with read-ins, book discussions, and literary happenings led by special guests. This Friday from 12:30-1pm , Michael Carabetta — Creative Director at Chronicle Books — will be speaking on the secrets of book design. Get to know Carabetta before his talk, including which book he donated to  The LPS and why. _________________________________________________________________________________ 1. In six words, tell us wh...